“Rotisserie chicken is universal,” says Samuelsson of the concept. “I decided a lot of dishes can come out of that.”

The C. Chavez ($6) takes ripped pieces of chicken and uses them as the base for a tostada-like dish with pickled red onions and mole. General Ye’s Chicken ($11) is a a play on the Chinese takeout staple General Tso’s, with crispy pieces of chicken served over a bed of green beans, mango, peanuts and rice. The name of the dish is also a reference to Kanye West, a winking nod to the city’s hip-hop roots.

Yeezy references aside, Samuelsson aims for the new spot to be an unpretentious, down-home place that will be more casual and relaxed than his ever-hopping Red Rooster 10 blocks away. There will be a takeout window for those who want to eat on the run, and a strict no-reservations policy.

“There are no VIPs,” he declares.

With retro signage and bright, vinyl-covered chairs, Samuelsson has modeled the places after once-swinging uptown diners, like Pan Pan and M & G.

“Those places are what made Harlem’s restaurant culture so different from eating downtown,” he says. “That vibe, the familiarity of those places, is what made eating up here different from downtown.”